Antarctic plane crash leaves no survivors

A Qantas 747 charter flies over Antarctica a century after Douglas Mawson and his Australasian Antarctic Expedition mapped it.

The wreckage of a small plane has been found after it crashed in Antarctica, leaving no survivors.

Search helicopters found the wreckage, but crews were unable to land at the site and said nobody could have survived the crash, reported the Associated Press. It was found on a steep slope near the summit of a mountain in the Queen Alexandra range.

The three Canadian crew members that were onboard the plane when it went down are presumed dead.

According to CNN, the Havilland Twin Otter plane had been flying from the South Pole to an Italian base at Terra Nova Bay. The crew had with it a kit including survival suits, mountain tents, and enough food and water for five days.

The pilot of the plane has been identified as Bob Heath of Inuvik, Northwest Territories, and media reports have identified a second crew member as Mike Denton, said to be a newlywed from Calgary, noted CBC News. The third crew member has yet to be identified.

Families of the victims have been notified.

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